Behind My Shades
by Milk'sGoneBad007
Summary: No one ever said Touko was from Unova; they've only made it seem that way. It's just like the rest of her life: a total masqurade. But it's not like she ever had the choice; or at least a fair one.
1. Prologue

Lush green and the essance of dew on grass. Beautiful. Just as was the girl who sat playing with her little Pokemon friend under a big maple tree that early Tuesday morning. Getting up early to play with the Pokemon of the Viridian Forest was what she did, and was always the first one up out of everyone in her small home of Pallet Town.

Touko pulled a long strand of hair back from the messy clump on her head, and placed it behind her ear. It wasn't a long walk from her home to the forest, but she still never liked to comb her hair, even when she had the time. The little six year old stroked the fur of the small Celebi that had come to play. Although it belonged to the Ilex Forest, it often came to join the girl, as they had become close friends, with the girl unable to travel very far. Celebi blended in well with the forest, which made for a great game of hide and seek. A personal favourite of Touko's.

A small cracking of twigs could be heard from the side. The child's head shot up in the direction of the noise, and held the small creature close. Although, it wasn't quite obvious whether she meant to protect the Pokemon, or herself. A wave a fear came over her, and she could feel herself shrink back. When nothing could be seen, Touko wasn't convinced, heart beat still fast. There was no taking chances with possibilities of old Rocket members hanging around.

So she stood with caution, still holding her friend. Touko swore she could see a faint hint of black whoosh passed just a short distance away.

"Why do you hold that Pokemon like it's your friend?," A man's voice cut in.

Before her big shiny, blue eyes, three men dressed in black appeared before the girl from the shadows. Touko stumbled back on her feet, landing on her backside over the grass. Heart rate doubled. As the man in front took a step forward, she inched back. The girl never cowared much, but of course, she never had a reason to before. Mouth shut tight, eyes wide, and legs shaking. Perfect combination of a frightened being.

She bent her head down and muttered to Celebi, "Run...fly...whatever you do, just go."

Releasing the Pokemon from her arms, she watched it fly off, turning it's head a few times to look back at it's abandonded friend. Celebi didn't want to leave her; if anything, it wished to fight along side her. But it did what it was told, only to hope that it was doing the right thing.

"Who are you?," The girl managed to get out in barely a whisper.

The third member closer to the back stepped forward. "Take no need toward us, but now that you've seen us, I'm afraid we must...dispose of you."

Touko shuddered at the last part. "Why's that?" It wasn't really directed at a certain part of what he had said, but mainly just out of confusion towards everything.

The second member replied, "Because we aren't meant to be seen. When we are, it only leads to trouble. Which means _eliminating_any _evidence_."

Like a slap to the face came the words. Her heart beat doubled once more, and she could swear that the men could hear it from where they were. But then again, in the cold silence that followed their words, you could have heard a pin drop, even on the wet grass. It was pure instinct that made Touko did what she did next.

_**Run.**_

Quick like a Purrlion, up she went and dashed as fast as her legs were take her. A quick nod was exchanged between the three men, before chasing after their new found prey. The grass was thick and tall, practicaly soaking the girl as her head barely peaked over the top. Right on her heels came the first man, and reached out to grab the girl's black vest.

But the chase had only begun.

Noticing, Touko made an effort to turn and kick his thigh as hard as she could manage worked well. Cleets made for great pain-bringers. The man only stumbled back a bit from the pain, but as Touko cried out a loud bird call, a Spearow flew in to swipe him off his feet. The bird didn't stay long, as it flew back off right away into the thick forest. The guy tripped over on his back, into the grass and out of sight for the girl who could barely see two feet infront of her, surrounded by so much foliage.

Touko didn't even bother to try and find his location, but instead kept up her earlier sprint. Of course, it was no surprise that these masters of disguise caught up. As she remember him to be the second man, he appeared before her, and without thinking, she took a big swift kick at his crotch, the underside of the shoe first. The little girl winced back as she heard him yelp in surprise and pain, and almost felt bad. But could she really make time for such feelings now?

No. It wasn't an option.

She jumped over his now sprawled out body, cringingas she heard him cry out. By now, she had forgotten about the third man, because it seemed as though she had lost him. Touko had been running for so long, or as it seemed to her, that her lungs were crushed by pain. The child relaxed though, as the edge of the forest came into view. Although, if she left, she'd be out in the open, just waiting to be hunted. So instead, she crawled up behind a tree, and waited in hope that Celebi would return, and would not have gone back to Johto out of fear.

Her mind told her that she would be okay, but even as the girl relaxed, she still felt her heart hurt with fear and pound hard with each breath. What a hectic morning. But she couldn't bring herself to regret leaving the house that day, because the forest might have been in more danger than ever if she hadn't been there. Touko relaxed as her back lay against the side of a tree.

"So you thought you escaped...?" The creeping voice of the third man that she thought had been lost snaked through silence.

A jerk of a hand was made from behind, pressing palm against Touko's mouth. She struggled and screamed under it's grasp, flinching when another hand was shoved on her throat, the man revealing himself from the shadows.

"You stupid little girl! You couldn't just come easy, now could you?" His words rung through her ears as the man knelt forward, head placed on her shoulder.

His grip tightened on her. "You look too young to know how to fully swim. Maybe I'll throw you in the river, and let you drown..."

Touko only hoped he wouldn't, as it seemed her futile attemptsto break free failed. The second man came to view, but only stood infront of her with a grin spread wide like butter on toast. She pleaded with her eyes up at him, thinking he might show some mercy.

_It wasn't my fault...If I knew these men would show up, I would have taken Celebi somewhere else. Now look where this has gotten me. It's not my fault...it's not my fault...it's not even my fault..._

The first man showed up then, but didn't sit back to watch like his partner. Instead, he went over to the girl and man, raised a foot, and bashed his other partner over the head with a kick.

Bending down to look at the girl, he asked, "Would you like to die?"

Touko kept her mouth firm shut, as to not slip up by saying something offensive by accident, but instead, shook her head furiously.

"I can grant you only one other option, then." The man drapped in black crossed his arms.

She took in a breath, and managed to get out, "What would that be?"

He shuck out a hand to help her up. "Come with us."


	2. Chapter 1

iWhy does it seem that I'm helpless, even if I know I am...?/i

A teenage girl sat along the edges of the Relic Castle, scribbling little thoughts and wishes on sticky notes. She looked it over, and tossed it over the side. Quickly, the paper was taken by the gusty sandstorms, and brought wherever the world would take it. Touko wasn't quite sure what she was doing- although, she rarely did- the girl just simply hoped that someone would find her notes and...

iAnd what?/i She thought. iThat somehow someone would know it was me writing? That someone would find it and magicaly come save me?/i

The thought of a fairytale disgusted her. And so, she went back to scribbling.

iI wish I were home.../i

Tears dropped on the note before it was crushed in the girl's now clenched fist. She tried never to think of home. Ever. It only hurt her more to believe that there was still a mother and father out there looking for her. Ever since the day came that she made the choice to go with the men that called themselves the "Shadow Triad" instead of being killed, she never once got the opportunity to see them again. Touko never even got to go back to Kanto.

The note was chucked hard, but didn't go far before being caught by the wind.

Even after being with the Shadow Triad for ten years, things hadn't gotten easier for her. She had been forced to live a masqurade, with only fake feelings when around other people. The days only got progressively harder.

The girl couldn't even understand their logic in things. She would be brought around with them to many places, to be trained as a ninja, and sometimes to be of assistence. But why they gave her a fake home with a fake mother just didn't make sense. Did they not want her to let something slip about them? Why not just keep her with them all the time, then?

Too much to process in one day.

Although, it had been ten years, not one day. When the Shadow Triad were questioned, they ignored her. When she asked the "mother" that they had placed her with, she ignored her, too.

The fake mother...

Once the four of them had made it to Unova, the Shadow Triad immediatly brought her to a small home...no, not a home, a house. Just a house was all it was. A kind lady who looked quite like Touko took her in with a bright smile. Although, Touko knew it was a fake smile. Not a real one. Not a loving one. Not anything close to true. Nothing seemed true anymore to the girl.

"Touko!"

The girl could hear her name being shouted in the distance. It was time to leave. Slipping the notepad in her pocket, the teen rose from her perch, and jumped off the edge of the broken and still crumbling castle. She landed just fine on her feet; of course this was something the Triad had made her learn. Sometimes they would push her abilities all too far though, only resulting in injury. The pains of broken bones lingered in her memories as if they were still occuring.

Sand and wind made for a bad combination, making sight almost impossible. But, the teen knew the way back, since the Shadow Triad had been there many times lately. Heaps of sand filled even high-topped sneakers, feet sinking deep beyond sight underground. Trainers and their Pokemon were spread out all around, enjoying the harsh area. Touko wondered what it would be like to come here with Pokemon of her own. Pallet town's wild Pokemon were even the friendliest creatures, so she didn't have to be a trainer to spend her days with them. But she hadn't even held a Pokemon in her arms for years now, because of these men. Why she wasn't allowed to be with Pokemon, she had no idea.

The opening of an underground cavern came into blurry sight in the distance. One of the three members stood outside, waiting for her. It wasn't sure from afar, but as she trudgedcloser, she noticed it was Than, the member who had tried to kill her; Touko was pretty sure that name was just a code one, though. The man only gave a cold look towards her, and called down into the cavern to another member.

"Hey Ryu, she's here! Let's go, already!"

Ryu emergedfrom the stairwell, and nodded at both of them, him being a little more kind towards Touko than Than had. She never felt quite comfortable around either of them, so whenever Leif, the third member who had more-a-less saved her, wasn't around, she felt it was necessaryfor her to keep her distance. Although, Ryu was somewhat of a comfort, but it would help Touko if he didn't always act like he didn't have a heart at all. Maybe it was just that Ryu was shy, or just naturally untalkative, but the teen feared being left alone in a room with him, for the dreadful occward silences were not something to look forward to.

It seemed as though whatever work they had been doing in the Desert Resort was complete, so they began to lead Touko wherever they planned to go next. The Shadow Triad weren't fans of telling the teenager about their plans and ideals. Acualy, besides the name "Shadow Triad", Touko didn't know who they were at all. It was only a mere guess of her's that the men worked for someone, or along-side someone. More than anything, she hoped that at least after all the training they put her through for reasons she couldn't understand, she might be able to follow them around. Even if it was just once, she yearned to know where the Shadow Triad went after returning her "home".

A far trip made for a painful one as silence was all that kept the three company.

"So...you guys have been going there a lot, lately..." Touko began, and they made their way into Nacrene, cloaked in the shadows, after an excruciatingly long silence. "I don't suppose either of you plan on telling me what's going on, huh?"

"No." Both members replied firmly in unison.

That stung.

She knew they'd never answer her, so the teen wondered why she even bothered sometimes; Ever bothered to wonder if she'd escape from them, ever bothered to seek a normal life. They made her fake every emtion she had for other people. Even the friends she'd made from Nuvema town, Bel and Cheren...she hoped she'd get the opportunity to feel real signs of friendship with them. But for now, Touko couldn't. She wasn't allowed. When Touko was on her own, she tended to get rather rebellious with rules.

iRules were meant to be broken./i

The teen thought of that old saying. But it was true, wasn't it? What kind of person would want to live in a world filled with nothing but one person's ideals to follow, one set of rules that could never be tweaked or meanded in the slightest way. If there was one thing she promised herself, it was that one day, she'd never have to follow the Shadow Triad again, never have to be careful about her every move incase they were watching her.

But that would have to wait for another day.

Touko tried her best to lag behind the two members, unwanting to be too close.

"What? Leif isn't here to protect you, and all of a sudden you feel scarred of us?" Than had a bright, beaming smirk on his face, that was just tempting Touko to snap.

But she was used to this by now. Normally, she could stay strong and confident around anyone. But these two were so different from normal people, especially Than. More than anything, she sometimes wanted to scream at him for taunting her as he was known to do, but the teen was brought back by fear. Which was something very much hated by the girl. The thought of being scarred by someone she despisedmade her sick to the stomach. It was probably from the early experience she had with Than, but even after ten years, she hadn't gotten used to him one bit.

So instead, Touko nodded and let out a small sigh. "Can you blame me?"

The three of them went at a quick pace down to Nuvema town. As they reached the front door of Touko's "home", Ryu didn't waste any time, and threw the door open. Because apperently knocking at someone else's door was just too sophisticated for them. Than took Touko by the back of her vest, and shoved the girl inside. She felt a sharp pain in the side of her face as it met the hardwood flooring. The teen cursed under her breathe, wishing Leif were there. She hated to admit it, but Leif was somewhat of a comfort zone for her, seeing as though he was the only one of the three that had the slightest bit of respect for her.

"Don't get into any trouble," Than threatned, and slammed the door hard behind him.


	3. Chapter 2

Small laughs and smiles were exchanged.

It was too perfect for her, that she wanted to cry.

Touko, Bel and Cheren had agreed to meet, the three teens finally able to spend some time together. Cheren had been busy with school for the longest time, Touko always with the Shadow Triad lately. And now that she walked up the steps to Cheren's bedroom, it hurt Touko to know that she might never truely be able to be their friends. The two thought so much of Touko, thought she was one of them; but only because they didn't even know half the story. Tears formed in her eyes, and were quickly blinked away as she entered the room and took a seat at a small desk.

Cheren closed a book he had been reading while waiting for the brunette. "Finally! Took you long enough," he joked. "Sorry about my absense, but school never gets easier."

Bel sat upright on Cheren's bed. "It's been so long since we've seen eachother that it almost feels like we're strangers now."

As Bel looked in Touko's direction, she placed an elbow on the desk, and rested her cheek in hand. Pain shoved through comfort as a bruise was touched. Touko ignored it, not wanting her friends to see her beaten face.

"Geez Touko, are you tired of us so soon? You're already slouching!" Bel flashed a quick smile at her friend.

A shrug was made, and the conversation lead on towards Cheren's classes, Bel's wanting of a Pokemon, and small inside jokes from past years. Acualy, they all hoped for Pokemon. Bel wanting a furry friend as someone to travel around with, but more importantly, for comfort. She knew her father would never allow her to go too far without protection. Cheren wanted to experience a real live battle more than anything. It was a growing urge from the moment he'd seen such an event on television. The boy had only been four at the time, but ever since then, it had been his dream. They all had reasons, and deserving ones at that.

But little did they know how big of a hole grew in Touko's heart, the memories of lost friends still ticking in her brain like a time bomb. She had grown up with them, felt their love and warmth, and cared for them since the begining. But her hopes grew farther away when she remembered the Shadow Triad. But they were an unwanted subject to think of at the moment.

Light shone through the windows as the morning settled over. What a happy little scene. Three chatty teens enjoying life the way they should. Together. But Cheren had to get back to his studies soon, and Bel was always helping her parents with something, so the time they had together was precious. Time swept by from constant life updates and chit-chat about the newest, most exciting things they'd seen. Cheren had wanted to start taking the gym challenge, and that was all he seemed capable of talking about once it came up. Bel slipped out word of her flirting with a boy at the edge of town that she had run into, catching the two others' attention almost imediatly.

"Woah, woah, woah! Say what now?" Cheren's eyes were wide.

It was a well-known fact between them that none had had an acual "date" before, which was probably because of the constant flustering they all had when trying to flirt. But they simpley hoped it was a common thing, that would eventualy be over-looked. But it iwas/i a problem. They were sixteen, and had never had a girl or boyfriend. And apperently, that was a big deal. But then again, with Bel's dad and Touko's...well, not quite sure what they'd be considered...they thought they'd never get the oportunity.

"Don't worry," Bel began. "It was only for a few minutes. It's not like I gave him my number or anything. I don't even know how I would go about it..."

_Give him your number? Why does that sound so cheesy to me? _Touko let out a small laugh.

"Do you think any of us will ever get a date?," Cheren asked.

Bel laughed at that. "Of course we will, eventualy! But I'm not sure if it'll be soon or anything..."

They both looked at the brunette.

"How about you, Touko? You've been kinda quiet lately." Bel tilted her head a bit to the side.

"Who, me? A boyfriend? You have got to be kidding me!" Touko laughed at even the thought.

That gave Cheren something to smile about. "That's Touko for you."

Bel blinked at her friend. "What do you mean?"

Cheren shook his head. "Oh come on, haven't you noticed? Many boys have liked Touko in the past, especially ones from my school, but she can't even look at a boy in any other way but a friend!"

"Touko...um..." She blushed. "You...oh, how shall I put this...don't 'drive you're car on the other side of the road'...?"

Touko head-desked. "So just because I haven't been interested in any guys, you suddenly jump to that conculsion?"

"Well, no...It just seemed as though-"

"She's not." Cheren cut in, sparing both of his friends any more aggonizing words. "Believe me."

A silence filled the room. A long one at that.

Bel looked up at the clock that was placed on Cheren's desk. "Oh! Why do I have to leave already?," She remarked knowing she'd be late for lunch if she left any later.

It was hard to tell if Bel acualy had plans at home, or if she would use anything as a feble excuse to leave.

"Guess I should probably head out too." Touko got up to stretch.

Cheren stood up aswell, and began to lead the two ladies to the front door. He gave both a hug goodbye, and opened the door for them.

_Guess he's only a gentleman when he wants to be..._ Touko waved a goodbye.

It wasn't long down the road before Bel stopped. "T-Touko...w-what...?" She placed a hand on the side of her friend's face.

A large bruise coloured dark purple and blue was smeared along Touko's left cheekbone. The petite teen's eyes fell to the ground. She didn't want to lie again, but what choice did she have? Touko took Bel's hand in her's and pushed it away.

"I-...I just fell on the way home yesturday...I-it's fine. Really." She forced a smile, but her eyes still read sorrow no matter how hard she tried.

Bel nodded slowly. "If you say so."

When she arrived home, Touko went straight for her room, not even checking once for the presence of anyone else. Her feet dragged up each step, hand limply holding the rail. She slouched against the door to open it, and stumbled over once it pushed inward. An empty room was all that lay before her. Sure, it had furniture and clothing in it, but that wasn't what was supposed to fill a true home.

Plopping herself down on the bed, Touko reached to the nightstand for her cellphone. Sunlight shone down on her, brown hair now warm and light. Her inbox read four messages.

(1) Leif _I hope things weren't too bad without me yesturday. Sorry about that. _

She replied: _It could have been better..._

(2) Bel _Good morning! See you at Cheren's! 11:00AM, don't forget!_

(3) Unknown _Where are you?_

(4) Prof. Juniper _I have something for you and you're friends! I'll be sending it off to your house, so expect a package soon!_

Touko ignored 2 and 3, not even sure who the unknown caller was, and re-read over 4. She wasn't sure what Juniper meant, but she rushed to the front door to wait. The last thing Touko wanted was either her "mother" or the Shadow Triad getting to it first. Only problem was, she still had a hard time telling if one of the Triad members was watching her.

But she made quick haste to the front porch, a man already heading down the road from the lab. It was an annoying wait as all she wanted to do was just run over to get the box, but she knew it was best to stay at least somewhat closed in.

"Sign here." The postal carrier handed a clickboard to Touko.

She had never signed for something before, so she only hoped she was doing it right. The man practicaly threw the package at her, after removing the clickboard from her grasp. Touko, with a careful glance to each side and one to the rear, made a quick movement back inside.

Up in her bedroom, the package had been placed on her desk. She retreaved her phone once more to send a dual message to both Bel and Cheren.

_Hey guys, Juniper sent something to me, said it was for all of us. Come over here as soon as you can._

After typing it in, she went to her recent recipients to click on her two friends to send to. A jolt to the "send" button was made. It was only mid-send did Touko realize she had accidentaly clicked the "Unknown" person from earlier, but before she could cancle anything, the text finished sending.

The teen shrugged, "I'm sure it won't matter."

Almost seconds later, a rapid knocking was heard at the door downstairs. If it was the Shadow Triad, she was definitly screwed. But instead, Touko opened the door to find Cheren practically bouncing with joy. He burst in, pulling Bel along behind him, both running up to the girl's bedroom.

_What the hell...? _ Touko thought, following them.

"!" Bel hopped with excitement infront of the large package.

"Umm...Am I missing something here? I thought you both were busy, that's why we left...?," Touko asked, utterly confused.

Cheren pulled a small switch-blade from his key-ring to cut through the tape. "The other day, we were over at the Proffesseur's lab, and she said that if we really wanted a Pokemon, even though it was a little late for us to be starting a journey, she would still consider it."

"So...you just assume that this box has Pokemon in it?," The petite teen questioned.

Bel shrugged, "What else would it be?"

Sure enough, three shining pokeballs had been placed in the box, all containing a Pokemon. Bel and Cheren made quick haste to choose their Pokemon. Snivy had been Cheren's choice, and Bel remarked it was a perfect match. But the blonde was caught between the two remaining ones. They were both so cute in her eyes, that she found it hard to pick one over the other. But then the Tepig bounced up into her arms, and it was clear that the Oshawott was almost shy, maybe even scarred of her.

The two teens looked back at their brunette friend, who sat on her bed, face plastered with a frown.

"Aren't you going to take one?," Bel asked.

Cheren let out a laugh, "Well, she doesn't really have a choice now, since we've already chosen ours."

"I don't want one." Touko lied. She had to.

"What?" The two said in unison.

"Just as I said: I don't want one. I'll be sending it back to Juniper as soon as I can."

The small teen pushed her friends out of her room, locking it behind them. Her friends found no use in fighting her, and left, too many emotions to count going through their heads. Touko looked down into the eyes of the Oshawott.

"I can't." She whispered, and returned the creature to it's pokeball.


	4. Chapter 3

Tick...tock...

Tick...tock...

Tick...tock...

Tick..tock..

Two creatures lay in that lonely bedroom, both meant to be; they just didn't know it yet. A small Pokemon resting in it's pokeball, a human resting on the edge of her mind.

_You want to take it, you know you do... _She told herself.

An unbarable moment passed.

_But how can I, with so much at stake...?_

_If the Shadow Triad knew I took hold of a Pokemon, they would...well, I don't know what they'd do...nor do I really want to know..._

The Oshawott waited, rocking slowly back and forth inside it's captivity. He watched how the girl acted, watched her movements; Every slow, uneasy breathe she took. The creature knew she'd take him. The only question, was "when...?".

_"Come over here, just pick me up. I dare you."_ The Oshawott whispered.

As if Touko had heard him, she slid off her bed and took several weary, drunken steps forward. He wasn't sure, but he swore he could see her hand shaking as she reached for the pokeball. Touko wrapped her fingers around the circular object, keeping it steady against the table as she rested her palm against it. It felt cold, untouched.

_"Let me out,"_ Came the calm demand.

"How many times do I have to say this? _I can't_," The teen hissed.

_"So you can hear me...?"_

"I can hear all Pokemon's voices, ever since I was little."

_"I know you weren't born here."_

That hit her like a brick to the head. "What?" She swore her heart had stopped, then.

_"You heard correctly. Although, I don't how you got here, but I have a feeling I'll find out soon enough."_

"Oh yeah? Why's that?"

_"Because I know you're dying to tell someone, anyone, just so all this info's not weighing on your conscience. I know what humans are like, I grew up in that lab with Juniper. You creatures need to tell people your secrets, otherwise it just eats away at you."_

Touko didn't bother replying to that, she knew it was true. "For someone so cute, you sure have quite the mouth on you."

_"I'm even cuter in person."_ He egged her on.

The girl hesitated, but only for a breif moment before pressing the round button in the center of the object. It quickly enlarged, startling her. This feeling, was it power, the ability to hold such a creature with much potential, enough to do more damage than one hundred people? Or maybe it was fear.

Touko had never experienced this before. All the Pokemon she had ever held were wild, and friendly. This one was held captive, and...was it friendly, or just dying to get free?

The small creature appeared before her, an empty pokeball in her hand. She tilted her head from side to side, inspecting it. The Oshawott did the same, following her movements; mocking her ignorance. It looked like any other Pokemon.

_So why does seem different...?_ She thought.

He waited, _"I'm your's, if you want me to be."_

The teen let out a deep sigh; a little test-run couldn't hurt. Besides, she'd waited for this long enough.

Summer was there to stay, which was obvious by the warm weather. Sun beat down hard as Touko took a step outside her front door. After turning the pokeball around in her hand, the Oshawott now inside, the girl slid it into her purse. She didn't like the idea of keeping it captive, but more improtantly, they couldn't be seen together. Acualy, Touko couldn't be seen at all by the Shadow Triad outside her house, but if she were to be spotted with a Pokemon, would make things much worse.

_"Let me out! No one's going to see us!,"_ It taunted.

She gritted her teeth, "Yes they will! Now stop talking so loud!"

_"Pfft, no one else can hear me, you idiot."_

Her brow furrowed at the insult. "They can't?"

_"Nope. But remember, they can hear you. So I suggest you watch your volume."_

Out into the open feilds of route 1 they went, no more words spoken between them. A few people were out and about, but other than that, it looked like all grass. The girl knew to stay out of grass until they were far enough from Nuvema to start running into other Pokemon. Easier said than done, but it was manageable.

The teen stayed low, making her way through the grass at a slow pace. If anything attracted wild Pokemon, it was quick movement. Still, each foot to the ground made an aggonizingly loud sound; it may have just seemed that way because of the quiet surroundings, though. It was hard not to speak or make any ubrupt movements with the Oshawott constantly nagging to be released.

It pained the girl to keep the Pokemon enclosed, but she didn't want to risk anything. She promised that he'd be released once they were in a more seculeded area, but that didn't seem good enough. Especially not when they reached Accumula Town, a brand-new world for the both of them.

"Just a little longer," She whispered. "Once we're on the next route, you can run arond all you'd like."

More than anything, she wanted to let Oshawott run wild, to see a happy face painted by the new sites. Just not yet.

The sites were so beautiful; painfuly beautiful. Touko wanted to let the Pokemon enjoy this with her. What a site to see! The grass many mixes of green with the help of the sun's light, the tree's fresher than ever with summer taking hold of the area.

"Well, well, well," Came the familiar voice. "Look who decided to come along after all."

Cheren came up from behind, startling the girl as his voice sprung through her ears.

_Busted._ Both Touko and Oshawott thought.

It was obvious that behind his smile, Cheren felt slightly betrayed. He and Bel had taken their first step together, and although Touko kind of had too, it wasn't the same. Cheren felt sick at the thought of Touko faking her diswanting for a Pokemon, then kicking her two friend's out of her room, just so she might be able to get ahead.

He winked at her. "So, looks like someone wanted a head-start, huh?"

Touko's eyes widened. "N-no! It's not like that at all!"

Cheren shrugged. "Whatever, doesn't matter anyways." Although, it did. "At least we're both here together now. Juniper and Bel should be coming along soon aswell."

Bel. Touko felt five times worse now that she would have to lie to her other friend aswell, ten times worse for having Bel think badly of her too, and twenty times worse to image what they must have told Juniper about her not tagging along.

Just as it had been said, things only got worse for her as the days went along.

"Come on." Cheren gestured towards the town. "Might aswell take a look around. No sense in waiting around here for them. Although, I'm sure you know plenty about that."

He was never going to let her live this down.

A large crowd started to form near the Town Square, but any thoughts Touko had then were interupted by Cheren.

"Uggh! I can't believe they don't have a gym here! I was so psyched for my first gym battle..."

It was true, though. Accumula Town was a cute little place with a peaceful atmosphere, but that was about it. There wasn't much entertainment, and was only a bit bigger than Nuvema. To the two trainers, if you could even call them that yet, it was nothing but old news. Not to mention that the two towns used the same newspaper printer, both being so close to eachother. Any news that happened in one place, would almost imediatly spread to the other.

"I also wanted to test out my new Pokemon!" Cheren looked over at his friend. "I caught two new Pokemon with the pokeballs I got from Juniper. I take it you haven't had the chance to catch any yourself...?"

Touko should her head in reply before watching Cheren reach into his coat-pocket. He pulled out five shiny, round objects and handed them to her.

"Juniper said that if you happen to change your mind, that I should give you these when we meet up along the road."

The petite teen accepted them happily. Although, she thought she might never acualy use them. It wouldn't be nessesary for her.

From the corner of her eye, she could see Bel and Juniper coming into town. Touko wanted to avoid any conversation with them at the moment, just until this whole thing died down a bit. So she quickly grabbed hold of Cheren's sleeve, and tugged him over to the large crowd, where it seemed as though some sort of preformance was about to begin. Just in time.


	5. Chapter 4

A large crowd had gathered; possibly everyone in the small town was there. The two teens joined the crowd, as Touko came to a screeching hault once amoung them, Cheren bumping into her back after being dragged behind by his wrist. Along with the crowd stood several odd-looking characters before them. Several words of "What's going on?" and "Who are these people?" were commonly spoken as each agonizing second passed.

Complete with uniform and strange badges, it was obvious they weren't just ordinary people; more than anything, they looked like clones.

Cheren leaned in close towards Touko to whisper, "What the hell is going on?"

But honestly, Touko had no idea, even less than Cheren, so she kept her mouth shut in reply. Guesses formed by imagination filled their heads.

"They look like something out of an alien or robot movie."

And Cheren's statement became just as possible when they eyed one man who stood out from the others quite a bit. Green hair and a long robe were the first indications that he wasn't any closer to normality than the clones. But as he turned towards the crowd, Touko and Cheren's eyes immediately went to the symbols and patterns on his robe, and then up to the logo formally seen on the clones.

"Now _he _looks like something out of a movie!," Cheren laughed at his own remark.

At that point, the man stood before the crowd, and in a loud, clear voice, began to speak.

"Ladies and gentlemen, my name is Ghetsis. Today, I've come before you to speak about Pokemon liberation."

Touko whispered to Cheren, "From the movie 'District 9', definitly!"

Cheren paused. "You mean 'War of the Worlds'." It wasn't a question.

"No, if anything, War of the Worlds is the last movie I'd compare this to. Remember all the alien look-a-likes in District 9? Mine's way closer." Touko rolled her eyes.

"Not closer! Not close at all!"

The two recieved many glares and odd looks from those surrounding them. By now, the two were so unaware of the others, they'd even drownded out the man named Ghetsis. Although it wouldn't have been hard with the teens practically yelling at one-another.

"Mine's not close?," She questioned. "War of the Worlds has barely anything to do with this!"

Cheren face-palmed himself, before bursting. "How would you even know? You only saw half the movie!"

It was then that many around the two teens shushed them, some even yelling. Startled, the boy and girl both looked around, now aware of all the unpleased and annoyed faces. They ceased their conversation at that point, both a little scared. An embarased look on each face, the teens looked back up where the presentation had once been in process. They could almost feel their hearts stop as Ghetsis had a death look set and locked.

A moment passed where it seemed as though no one breathed.

Ghetsis released his starring grip on the young ones, and continued on, finishing up.

"Pokemon contain unknown potential, and over-all, we humans should learn from them. We must liberate Pokemon, if we ever wish to truely be equals!" He paused for a brief moment before finishing. "I end my words here today, hoping you will rethink your place along-side Pokemon."

He glared back at the two noisy ones, "We sincerely appreciate your attention."

And so they left, just as quick as they had come. No more words, not a single one, was heard from them after that. The man Ghetsis was the first to turn from the crowd, preparing for departure, as the so-called clones gathered their belongings that had been brought to town. They formed what seemed like a protective wall, maybe what they hoped to be a sheild, around Ghetsis, leaving the crowd to depart aswell, bewildered in the thoughts of acualy liberating their Pokemon.

But the two teens didn't even have the chance to get to that subject.

Touko glanced one last time at the strange group, before turning to her childhood friend. "Why do I have the feeling that's not the last we'll be seeing of them?"

Cheren raised an eyebrow, "Maybe because that's what happens in all movies and novels, and it's only proper for such an occasion like this?"

"Well," Touko began. "That's a possibility. But it might also having something to do with the fact that we have yet another green-haired freak," She pointed behind Cheren, "headed our way."

Touko didn't know what to think of the man as he approached them, mainly because any good thoughts she could have had about him were shrouded by the fact that he looked quite a bit like the man named Ghetsis. And that was definitly someone she didn't want to get too close to.

But for some reason, she felt entranced almost. Perhaps it was the way he walked, like he owned everyone and everything around him. His body language spoke of confidence and pride, but as he came to stand next to the two teens, one slight glimps at his eyes, and they called out as desperation. A small spot in Touko's heart seem to puncure inwards as if she could sense some sadness in him.

_"You know this guy, Touko?"_ Although she didn't know it, Oshawott was looking up at her from his pokeball.

Following almost imediatly afterwards, came a distant voice from the boy. "You're Pokemon...it was saying something just now."

Cheren furrowed his brow at the other male, in a state of disbelief. But standing next to him, Touko's attention shot directly across to his words, her disbelief for another reason.

"Hmm, from your reactions, I take that you two can't hear it, either. What a shame...Well, I suppose I should introduce myself. My name's N."

_"Why don't you tell this 'N' you can hear me?" _Oshawott spoke once more, this time trying it's best to stay at a whisper.

But the petite female didn't reply to either of them. She didn't want to tell anyone her secret. If she wasn't even prepared to inform her close friends about it, she definitly wasn't going to tell some freak she met on the street. So Touko kept her mouth shut, no matter how much she wanted to yell at him then and there, because this was her special secret. _Her's._

"You're insane," Came the firm two words from Cheren.

N's glance slipped over to Cheren quickly, and then slid down to the teen's jacket pocket where his Pokedex stuck out, almost at a falling point.

"A Pokedex...Although I am a trainer myself, I find it hard to believe that anyone would want to confine Pokemon into Pokeballs for such a useless purpose. I can't help but wonder...are Pokemon truely happy that way?"

Touko glarred down at the Oshawott then, and as he glanced up at her, he knew why. So, the "yes" that he so desperately wanted to blurt out then, stayed shut away in his mind. His vision was a bit disoriented from the inside of his Pokeball, but he could tell that Touko wanted very much so to do the same.

N took a quick look at the both of them. "May I ask your names?"

Cheren turned to Touko then, and said in a completely normal voice, not even trying in the slightest to hide his words, "If I say 'no', do you think he'll go away?"

The teenage girl held back her initiative to laugh, and simply turned to N and replied, "My name is Touko. My friend here is Cheren; please ignore him."

N nodded. "Touko, was it? Let me hear your Pokemon's voice again; battle me."

The last two words shot through Touko like a bullet. Never once had she battled before, lest she know how, nor did she want to. The whole reason she wanted to keep Oshawott enclosed was to protect him and keep him unseen. She was almost out into her freedom, and there was no way she'd let some green-haired hippy ruin it for her.

But Oshawott thought differently. He wanted this battle, more than anything. So he jiggled the Pokeball a bit, and released himself; He wasn't close enough to Touko yet for him to be enclosed completely.

Touko, alarmed, yelled out, "Oshawott, what are you-"

_"I know for a fact that you've never battled before, so you're going to have to trust me on this one. I know what I'm doing; I've had many practice battles in the lab with Juniper. All you need to do is give the command,"_ He interrupted.

She looked down at the small blue and white Pokemon, knowing there was no way she could do this, and yet no way for her to back out. She looked at Cheren, who only shook his head; he wasn't going to battle N himself.

_"Trust me,"_ Oshawott repeated.

N came in then. "Your Pokemon says he would like to battle alongside you."

_I know what he said, you freak._ But those were only more words for Touko to hold back.

N pulled a Pokeball from his pocket. "My friend, please aide me in this battle!"

The green-haired man threw the ball, before them appearing a small Purrloin. He commanded for a "scratch", the cat-like creature running straight for Oshawott.

Touko froze."Umm...uh.."

Purrloin raised it a paw, claws protruding from the tips. Oshawott did nothing, simply awaiting for a command of it's own.

Out of desperation, the brunette cried out, "Move!"

Oshawott bounced to the side and flipped back a few times with ease; Purrloin swipped at air. They had lasted a turn.

The blue and white creature jumped to Touko's side. _"For future references, it's 'dodge'."_

She placed her hands to her hips. "Well now how was I supposed to know that!"

_"Whatever. But we've only gone a single turn; barely. And you do know the essentials to winning a battle, correct?"_

The petite teen gulped. "Attacking."

Trying her best to remember correctly, she called out for a "tackle", Oshawott instantly reacting to her order. It hit dead on, which was only out of sheer luck that N had been taken off-guard. Another tackle was commanded, and the otter Pokemon did as told.

At the same moment that the Purrloin moved, Touko shouted "To the left, Oshey!"

The movement was quick as he aimed in the direction of that the Purrloin had gone, and a critical hit was made as they were hit by surprise once more.

The cat pokemon layed in defeat before N returned it to it's Pokeball.

The otter pokemon returned to Touko's side once more. _"Is this 'Oshey' going to become a regular thing_?" Although he was unsure of why he bothered asking, already knowing the answer was "yes".

There was a moment when all went silent, and all that was heard were the footsteps of Cheren moving towards the brunette to join her once more.

N stared down at the Pokeball in his hand. "Pokemon will never become perfect beings if humans continue to confine them in Pokeballs. Pokemon have always, and will always, be my friends, so I must change the world for them..."

Those were the last words the two teens heard from the strange boy before he headed off out of town, without a goodbye. Both trainers seemed to stare at him, as if they couldn't believe someone like him even existed. Although they both had so many thoughts about him, they spoke of none. It was only after N had disappeared from sight that Cheren spoke up.

"He sure is strange. I myself couldn't possibley image a world without Pokemon by our sides. Although I only got my first one today, I just know humans and Pokemon are meant to work along-side eachother. But let's just hope we don't have to deal with this anymore, hm? I'll be going on to the next town to take on the Gym there. See ya around, okay?"

They both waved sad excuses for farewells, but that was all they seemed to be able to get out. That day seemed all too filled with what some call excitement, and others, chaos. But it was true after all, especially since Touko knew there would only be more as she continued down the road. It was then they she began to question even going on, but kept it to herself.

Oshawott jumped up into Touko's arms then. _"Just out of curiosity, you told me to move to the left, just when the Purrloin did. How did you know it would do that?"_

Touko smiled down at her little friend as she heart warmed at it's sight. "I didn't."


	6. Chapter 5

When she nodded, he nodded.

When she walked, he followed.

When she laughed...oh how he wished he knew what was so amusing.

They were inseperable; they hadn't even left Accumula Town yet, and already Oshawott felt like he couldn't let go of her. Touko became his world. She lifted him up when he was down; literally. There wasn't a moment when he wasn't in her arms or up sight-seeing on her shoulders, try his best to avoid getting lost in the brunette's big puff of hair.

Except for when they danced.

The day before they set out of Accumula Town, it rained. No, it poured. Oshawott had held back the urge to be outside, the water one of his great admirations. But that was before Touko had picked him up off the cushion in the Pokemon Center, and rushed them outside.

She undid her hair and twirled 'round and around, tossing Oshey in the air as she danced. Unlike every other person still out on the streets, Touko brought no umbrella. She embraced the rain like no one else, and yerned to be out in it.

Never had he seen her happier.

Until the day after. The moment the two decided it was time to leave Accumula Town, they took no time to wave goodbye to the almost barren little town. The first step they took onto route 2 made a slow smile turn into a flashing, white-toothed grin for the young trainer.

Yes. A trainer. That's what she had decided.

No...That's what _they_ had decided.

The teen had been reading the entries of the only two Pokemon she had in her Pokedex. "It says here that Oshawott will fight back immediately once they are attacked, without hesitation. How come you didn't fight back on your own in the battle with N?"

He smiled up at her._ "Because you needed to take the first step on your own. It's part of growing, and I promise to always help you grow."_

Touko swore on her life, crossing her heart over with her fingers nearly a thousand times, that she would never continue her journey unless Oshawott was there by her side.

_Right_ by her side, and not a step further away.

Route 2 was fairly small, but perhaps it was for the better. Accumula Town had been somewhat of an amazement to them, which was saying something. The two needed to grow as the land did, to shape themselves with the earth, following the same pace as Unova. Their paths would get bigger eventualy, so all they wanted to do now was enjoy the simple sites, and take things a step at a time, which meant pushing away all thoughts of a city they had heard of called Nimbasa until they were acualy there.

"Look!" Touko darted into a near-by bush after she pointed to a person standing along the trail.

Oshawott, in an alarmed state, sprung after her. _"What? What's going on?"_

The teen snickered. "It's a wild 'lass'. They're said to have a rather sassy nature, so we better be careful."

A smile slipped over the otter Pokemon's face as he realized his friend's joke. But it was true about the lass trainer, not to mention two youngsters on their path ahead. But things like this were no longer a worry. Now they knew what they were doing, and were prepared to do it well.

Moves like "tail whip" were tried out, and always did nicely when followed by a tackle. This sort of combination turned into a routine between them, although became a little boring after so many times.

"Use flamethrower!" Touko shouted in a battle against Youngster Roland.

Oshawott stopped dead in the middle of the battle and turned to her, laughter taking over. _"How stupid are you!"_

She stood there, dumbfounded. "What?"

He shook his head, _"Nevermind."_ And from there went on with a tackle.

At the end of the battle, Oshawott began to glow slightly, but it faded quickly.

"What was that?" The teen was almost worried.

Until her friend looked up and replied, _"I believe I just learned a new move..."_

And so they danced again, this time in celebration. "Water gun" had just been gained, but more importantly, it was the first move he had ever learned.

The two danced as they walked, throughout the grass that was still wet with rainwater, along the dirt paths that scuffed Touko's shoes, everywhere. And it didn't matter to them who looked, who stared. They were all too lost in their own amusement; the kind of fun that seperates you from the world, and makes you feel as if no one else exists. And at one point or another down the road, they _were_ the only ones.

But it was all for the better when they started asking some of the stupidest questions, as some sort of attempt for them to get to know eachother better. Although, in a way, it wasn't obvious if it was helping.

It was now Touko who was to ask the questions, as they took turns. "What do you think you'll reincarnate into?"

_"Who says I believe in reincarnation?" _Oshey scoffed at his trainer, his friend.

"Dunno." She said. "Alright, if you could be any sandwhich spread, which would you be?"

_"Jelly or jam, easily."_

"If I threw white-out on you, what would you say?"

He spread his arms out and looking himself up and down with a disgusted face. _"What the hell was that for?"_

"What about plant food?"

_"What about it? It tastes grose." _He paused and furrowed his brow. _"Believe me."_

"OOOOH! Touko!" Bel came running up with a conrete smile plastered over her face.

The blonde hugged Touko tightly, without hesitation of letting go for several moments. In all honesty, Touko had missed Bel. Sure, she could be a little clueless at times, and possibely annoying, but she was still a friend.

More than anything, Touko missed Bel's hugs, missed the way her voice would get all sing-songy when she was happy. What were merely once obnoxious habits, now seemed like someone had taken Touko's heart and splashed it all over her well-being. She never realized how much she needed her friends.

Oshawott simply stood there, grinning in the sight of happiness; For two different reasons. The greeting of two trainers setting out on their journey only ever lead to one thing, and Oshey was right about this.

"Hey Touko, I've been training a lot lately, and I was thinking that maybe we could have a battle." Bel didn't bother asking it as a question; she already knew Touko would agree.

Which was also correct.

The brunette turned to her Pokemon friend, awaiting for a reply. When Oshawott nodded, the battle begun.

Bel had surprisingly become stronger than expected. Perhaps her team wasn't as tough as Cheren's, but she cared for her Pokemon deeply, and it showed.

"Uh-oh...am I in trouble?"

Bel's Lillipup had been taken down already, and all that remained was her Tepig. It was absolutely adorable, which almost made Touko go easy on it, but she knew better. She had been raised to fight back with violence, as she had always been treated in such ways.

"You bet you are!" The petite teen winked. "Oshey's water gun is super effective!...right?"

The Oshawott looked back at his trainer. _"Correct."_

So Touko wasn't the most coordinated trainer, she was only a beginner, still learning the basics as she went along. Battling had become a fun activity for her, but more than anything, she didn't want her Pokemon to get hurt all too badly, especially not like she had been. Touko rubbed over her once bruised cheek at the thought.

Bel returned her Tepig to it's Pokeball. "Wow, you've turned out to be one tough cookie, huh Touko? I guess my Pokemon and I still have a lot of training to do!"

"Naw, you're pretty good yourself. After all, me and Oshawott haven't been through many battles yet, so I wouldn't say we're all that good." The brunette flashed a smile down at her Pokemon.

"Well, I guess I'll get going, then!"

And so Bel headed off, with only her breif goodbye to hold Touko's mind together.

After several moments, the teen picked up Oshey. "She's gone...Just like everyone else."

He waited, trying to find some words of comfort, but none seemed to come to mind. _"I know."_

Touko's heart seemed to get a new puncture wound with each goodbye said between her and...basicly anyone. She didn't want to let go of people, especially ones she was certain about seeing again. This whole journey just reminded her of how distant she was becoming from the people she already could barely call her friends.

It was all because of the Shadow Triad, and how they'd never let her get attatched to anyone...although, she hadn't seen them in a while now. Perhaps this would be the start of her happiness. Not that she truely believed it'd last long.


	7. Chapter 6

"Where the hell is she?"

Papers flew, as did books and little trinkets, pillow feathers scattered along the bedroom floor.

They weren't happy.

But of course, this was stating the obvious.

Leif had placed himself on Touko's bed, seeming rather at peace; bored, almost. He placed his elbow on his knee, and laid his head comfortably in his palm. Unlike Ryu and Than, he seemed not to care in the slightest about the teen, more so wanting to just let her be. But he knew better than anyone that his two companions would never allow it.

Leif let out a long yawn, not bothering to cover his mouth. "You two didn't honestly expect her to follow by our sides like a dog forever, did you?"

Than turned to give him a death glare; one of his best, at that. It didn't touch Leif in the least, as usual. If anyone could stand up to Than, it was him, because out of any person in the world, he knew him best. They had grown up together, and more than most friendships, this one had...well, "lasted" wouldn't be the best way to put it. As much as the two knew deep down that they were friends, Than never showed it.

"Alright, fine." Leif began. "But at least tell me why trashing her room is going to help. Honestly, did you think she was going to come back and be horrified by the sight of this mess, or something?"

"We're looking for evidence or any traces of where she might have gone, you idiot!" Than slapped the back of his companion's head as he past him while crossing the room.

"Oh please; we all know exactly where she's gone."

Leif's two companions turned to look at him, waiting for a continuation of the sentence.

"She's gone off with her Pokémon, to be out on her own; to be _free_. Come on now, it was bound to happen sooner or later!"

Than was just about ready to burst. And he did. "'Come on now'! You've got to be kidding! Do you not remember what Ghetsis asked us to do? We have to keep her away from N, and you know exactly why! And hey, if you haven't noticed, we're not doing a very good job of it!"

"Well, Touko's not coming back, and we all know it."

Silence fell over the room with Leif's statement.

They all knew he was right.

Ryu stepped over to the edge of the bed to stare at him straight, face to face. "Then we'll just have to go find her ourselves."

"What do you mean the Gym Leader's not here?" The brunette placed both hands on her hips.

The gentleman guarding the door raised a brow at her tone. "That is correct. Now, if you'll please step aside-"

"Yeah, right!" The teen pushed her way passed the man, yanking on the door.

It was locked.

"I think it would be best if you left."

Touko looked up at the man, unsatisfied. But, seeing as though she could do nothing, she straightened herself up, gave a small "hmph" noise, and was on her way with Oshey following right behind her.

The small Oshawott looked at his friend, a little bit of curiosity going on in his head. But he laughed it off as he imagined smoke steaming out from her cap. Sure Touko was mad, but like any other good friend would do, Oshey just got a good kick out of it.

_"Look! There's a...'Trainers' school'? I didn't even know those existed."_ Oshawott came to a stop at the bottom of the steps leading to another building. _"As a matter of fact, I didn't even think trainers' went to school in general. Wanna go check it out?"_

"Hey now, I'm not _that_ bad!"

The otter Pokémon gave another smile at his trainer, before leading her along. The brown-grey building was just next to the gym, off to the left of the city. Straiton, was where they were. Besides the bigger population, not much was different from Accumula Town. But either way, it was a new adventure waiting to happen. If only they were a little more enthusiastic about it.

There was no need for knocking, as a "welcome" sign was on the door, inviting them in. Stone-cold grey made the inside a little depressing, but all the young trainers were perky enough to lighten things up.

_"Oh great."_

Touko's eyes fell to her little blue friend. She followed his gaze which shot a deadly glare across the room.

Cheren stood up at the front, standing, starring, straight at the chalkboard, reading from it.

Oshawott raised a brow in suspicion. _"If he still needs to read off that blackboard, than he must be even worse than you."_

Touko was the one to give a glare this time around, and not just as he insulted her, but Cheren as well. He was her (for the most part) childhood friend, and she hoped for the two to get along. Although, thoughts of that were currently drifting further and further away with each passing day. As was her own relationship with Cheren.

He turned slightly from the blackboard at the sound of her footsteps, basketball shoes against hardwood floors, squeaking occasionally. Cheren got a good glimpse of her, and turned as he realized who was approaching. At the full view of Touko, he slid his hands in his pockets, and relaxed his back against the chalkboard.

"Heh, Touko. Come looking for the gym leader, have we?"

Touko smiled. "Yes."

_"No."_ Oshawott spoke with her.

Cheren tilted his head slightly. "Sorry, I didn't quite catch that."

Thinking Cheren might have heard Oshey, she tapped him with her foot, pushing the blue creature over a bit.

"Uh, yes!" She forced a grin. "He's apparently the first gym leader, and I was really hoping for a battle."

"Geez, you must really be blind. He was just here a second ago. Don't tell me you walked right passed him?" Cheren shook his head; he showed no sign of humour. "But hey, if you're looking for a battle, I'm right here."

The teenage boy snatched a pokeball from his jacket. "But remember, we're indoors, so let's take it easy."

The little Pokémon stepped up. _"Why, scared?"_

Oshawott taunted Cheren's Snivy and Purrloin. No, not the move Taunt, but literally taunted them by dancing around the room, dodging each hit with ease. It began to make Cheren wonder if the Oshawott really needed Touko at all for this battle.

"Water gun!," Touko commanded.

But Oshey denied it; said it wasn't the right moment. He refused anything he was told, causing frustration to boil inside the young teen. She wanted to pull him out of the battle, give him a good slap up-side the head; not that she had it in her.

Cheren gave a scoff from his side of the room. "Wow, Touko. I thought your Pokémon would have been better trained by now; they don't even obey you!"

And just like that, one Vine Whip later from the small Snivy, and Oshawott was out cold.

"Please help my Oshawott! He hasn't even moved since he got knocked out in battle!"

Touko stood in front of the counter at the Pokémon Center -in front of the nurse, in front of everyone- screaming, pleading, and trying to get assistance for the small creature that lay numb in her arms. There were only a few scratches on the Oshawott, but to Touko, each cut was like a thousand more breathes she had to take per minute, a thousand more millimeters separating them.

But all the nurse did was smile at the young girl, taking the Pokémon carefully from her, and onto the healing machine that made Pokémon Centers what they were known for. When Touko was asked to sit, she refused, wanting to be the first thing Oshey saw when he awoke.

And when the nurse told her things might take a while, her heart sank into a thousand more mental emotions.

So she gave in.

The teen scuffed her feet with each step, as she traipsed over to an empty seat around a glass table. A couple people gave odd glances towards her, some even starring for noticeably long periods of time. And all the young teen did was scoff a little, and let her mind daze off into whatever thoughts it could, while awaiting her friend to be back in her arms.

A small tap was felt on her shoulder, but Touko paid no attention to it. Maybe she didn't care who it was, or what they had to say, or maybe it was more so that she didn't _want_ to care. As the presence of the other being faded away, the girl's shoulder was left with an eerie feeling, like she was expecting more of a persuasive action to kick in. But when nothing more happened, she let her guard down. She hated to admit it, but for a moment, she actually hoped for someone to come talk to her. It had been all too long since she had any real, worth-while human contact.

Touko regretted ever thinking that way -ever feeling that way- the very next second.

An enormous tug pulled Touko from her seat. A quick reaction was made to pull at the hand gripping at her skin, but when she reached for it, the figure pulled Touko in front of them, leading her out of the Pokémon Center. She had absolutely no interest in fighting back, as memories began to flood. The teen recalled the same grip like it had been yesterday, and let Than's hand cover her mouth, even when she had no intention of screaming.

She was willing to give answers to any questions they might have had, but it was obvious that wasn't what they wanted. The Shadow Triad didn't come looking for answers, they came looking for her.

Great.


	8. Chapter 7

Deep, heavy breathing was all that accompanied the two as they walked.

As his hand cupped over her mouth, she caught the scent of lemon lotion.

Touko made a mental note that if she got out of this alive, she'd be sure to mock him for it.

But as the two's walk came to a slow stop in the shade of the Dream Yard, the face she turned around to see wasn't Than's.

Touko's lips almost twitched to a smile as she muttered, "Leif…"

Leif just stood there for a moment, looking around uncomfortably, fidgeting with his pants' pocket. She studied him up and down while she was given the chance. He didn't look like himself. He seemed worn out and worried, but about and from what, she had no idea.

"Touko…," he began, "I need you to do yourself a favour."

She didn't need to think about what he had said to know it didn't make sense. "What does that mean?"

"As in, I need you to do it to protect yourself, but you are not going to like it. That's why I need you to remember that you are doing it for me…"

"If you think that made things any less confusing, you're dead wrong."

Leif took a long breath inwards, and released it as a sigh. "I didn't expect you to understand."

He fiddled around in his pocket before pulling out three shiny objects. Looking at them more closely, Touko noticed they were gym badges. She hadn't had the chance to obtain her first yet, seeing that the gym leader wasn't there last she checked, so the idea of getting three scot-free intrigued her slightly.

"What are these for?"

He paused reluctantly, as if he wasn't going to tell her.

"Well?"

"You've got a problem, Touko. Well, now _we_ have a problem."

The young teen placed her hands on her hips. "Alright, that's it; enough with the confusion! I want to know what's going on, and by Arceus it _better_ be the truth!"

"They're after you. The Shadows Triad, that is." His words stopped Touko dead in her once confident thoughts. "They're hunting you down, and in all honesty, I don't know what they are going to do once they find you. What I do know, is that you don't have to stay here and deal with this. If you leave now for another region, the chances that they will follow you are slim. They have got the advantage here, so they won't go out of their way to go after you if you are defenceless."

"They're after me because I ran off? That doesn't make any sense! Why would they even care?" She looked up at him and furrowed her brow. "Speaking of which, why would _you_ even care? You saved my life all those years ago, but you didn't let me go. You've helped them keep me in confinement all this time. You're helping me know. There're things you aren't telling me, aren't there?"

"Listen, I want to tell you. You are a good kid, and I don't want to see you get hurt, but I can't tell you and keep you safe at the same time."

He shoved the badges into her hands, and told her to make for Driftveil City. She wasn't to talk to anyone unnecessary, she wasn't to go near any of the gyms; her only goal was to make her way through each city until Driftveil. Leif started to say something else, but he shook his head and let the thought go, before pushing her out of the secluded trees they'd hid behind. There were so many things Touko wanted to ask him, but as she turned to question him, she found nothing but the solemn back area of the Dream Yard, the trees waving in the wind. She'd be sure to bring this all up with Oshawott.

_Oshey! _

She'd completely forgotten about her Pokémon still resting in the Pokémon Center.

_Arceus, I'm a terrible trainer!_

"How's he doing, nurse?"

The nurse standing at the counter looked up the young teen, before outstretching an arm. She handed Touko her pokeball with a smile and said, "He's doing just fine. Although, do try to keep him out of action for the next little while. We don't want that happening again."

Touko thanked the nurse, and took the pokeball gently in her hands. She left the Pokemon Center, never taking her eyes off the path ahead of her. As soon as she returned to the depths of the Dream Yard, almost sure they were alone, she released her Pokemon for the first time in what seemed like forever.

The blue and white Pokemon looked up her, its eye shining as she looked away, rubbing her arm remorsefully.

Sighing, she said, "You know, I _would_ yell at you for what you did back there in that battle with Cheren, but I need your help."

"_And __**you**__ should know I __**would**__ be chastising you for not knowing that since you just recently got me, I'm not going to obey every command you tell me, and yet you still call yourself a trainer, but you don't see __**me**__ complaining, do you?" _He gave a small wink, making the young trainer smile.

"So I'll take it as you'll help me?" She was pretty sure on his answer, but the doubt in her voice was still obvious.

He sat down and patted the grass beside him, gesturing for her to join him. _"Anything for you, partner."_

And so, Touko slowly explained what had happened to her throughout the years. She knew very little about what was going on with her own life, that it was hard to be detailed, but she tried her best nonetheless. She went from the moment in Viridian Forest all those years ago, to the places they'd traveled while getting to Unova, all the way up to what happened with Leif barely minutes ago.

Oshawott listened intently, nodding along. _"Do you have any idea what they want from you?"_

She shook her head. "Not a clue. And the only ones I would think know anything about this would be the other Shadow Triad members –not that I'm going anywhere near them."

"_When he told you not to talk to anyone unnecessary, who do you think he meant?"_

Touko thought about anyone she might have met along her way, but she hit a wall. "I don't know; I haven't really met anyone since we set out together…"

Oshey tilted his head slightly. _"What about that N guy? He seemed kind of suspicious, no?"_

"I guess…but what could he have to do with this?"

"_That's true; if anything, he seems a lot like that Ghetsis person from a town or so back; Talking about Pokemon liberation and all. Liberation! I've never met a single Pokemon who would enjoy life without humans!"_

"Ghetsis, huh? Wasn't he with that group of freaks…Team Plankton…Team Pluto…Team Plasma! That was it! But there's no way the Shadow Triad have anything to do with Team Plasma…"

Oshawott sighed. _"So I guess we've hit another dead end."_

Just then, something in the distance cried out. _"Mu!"_

The fidgety pair looked up from the broken wall behind them, to catch the sight of a puzzled Bel, a crippled Munna, and two strangely-dressed human beings.

"_Speak of the devil."_ Oshawott said under his breath, _"Team Plasma…"_

Touko looked over at her friend. "Looks like it's our time to shine!"

They both stood, ready for action.

"And don't screw it up this time!"


	9. Chapter 8

AN: Thank you to everyone who's been reviewing ;n; It means so much to me! I truly am glad you all seem to like it, and I know I haven't explained a whole lot, but I hope you understand that explanations will come with time ^^; I wanted to put this in, because I can't reply to those of you without accounts, but I wanted you to know that I still read all the feedback and reviews, and it's all very appreciated :3

_"T-thank you…"_ A small whisper broke through the once again serene area.

Touko stood tall and proud over the two defeated Plasma grunts that stood before her. Beside her, Oshey wasn't breaking a sweat, even after beating both of the grunts, seeing as they were no challenge at all. The battle had gone by rather quickly, and Bel crept over to her friend's side.

"That was great, Touko! You two came just in time!" Bel hugged the other teen tightly.

Bel explained what had just happened before the Oshawott and his trainer showed up. The two Plasma grunts had attacked the small Munna that lay numb before them, apparently wanting something from it. Bel had done her best to help, but there wasn't much she could give, seeing as she hadn't been prepared for battle. The Munna was grateful to the duo, but there wasn't much she could do to show it besides push for a small, broken smile.

Touko knelt down next to Oshey, kissing his forehead. "You did great back there," She whispered, before going over to the injured Munna.

Oshey smirked, _"Believe me, it was no problem!"_

The grunts didn't move from their places, still standing weakly in front of the two trainers. Touko studied them briefly. They disgusted her, to say the least. The thought of anyone hurting Pokemon disgusted her. She wanted to hurt the two fiends like they'd done to the Munna, clenching her fists so tightly her knuckles became a creamy white colour. But she held herself back.

Before Touko could ask if the poor Munna was alright, one of the grunts pushed her aside, causing her to fall over, scrapping against the pavement. She hadn't seen him coming. Oshey was about to jump to her aid, but she motioned from him to stay put, wanting to see what the grunt would do. But, she had never expected for him to do what he did next.

The grunt swung his foot, bashing it into the Munna. "Come on! Make with the Dream Mist!," he shouted.

Bel stepped forward, screaming hysterically. "Knock it off! You're hurting it!"

Touko hadn't a clue what to do as she lay there motionless on the ground. She had heard stories of people abusing Pokemon, but not once in her life had she wished it were true. But there she was: Experiencing it first-hand.  
>With a broken heart and a lost mind, she crouched on the ground, not noticing the man appear beside her.<p>

Her terror was interrupted by his words. "What are you two doing goofing off?"

The teen looked up, revealing someone she hadn't seen in days now; Ghetsis. But for some reason, he didn't seem real, like he wasn't truly there. Her guess was proven right as another Ghetsis appeared on the other end of the Dream Yard, mentioning something about separating Pokemon from people.

_What the heck is going on here…?_

But she never finished her thoughts, as the two grunts took haste, running in a desperate dispatch. And just like that, Touko, Bel, Oshey and the Munna were left there by themselves.

Oshey glanced at Touko, who rose to her feet. _"Is it just me, or was that really confusing? There was no way that was Ghetsis; A hologram is what I'm assuming._

Bel spoke up as well. "This is so confusing! That Ghetsis guy was all over the place! There's no way that was real…Could it have been just a dream?"

A Musharna came to join the small Munna, who had still yet to recover.

"And that Pokemon…" Bel muttered.

The Musharna asked, _"Are you alright?_

The smaller version nodded in reply.

Whatever the heck was going on, the Pokemon didn't stick around to help find out. They disappeared into the depths of the Dream Yard, leaving behind what Bel identified as "Dream Mist".

_"Th…that all happened so fast…I….I don't even…"_ Oshey stuttered with his words, before joining Bel who had already made her way to Touko.

Even though the Brunette was standing, the shake in her knees was obvious. She cupped her hand over her mouth as if she was going to hurl. Bel frowned, placing her arm around her friend.

"I know it looks bad, Touko," She began. "But you did everything you could, and hey, that Munna looked like it was doing okay now, didn't it?"

But she didn't accept it. She wouldn't. Even the fantasy of being able to forgive someone like those grunts was forbidden in her mind. She wished she could let it go, knowing that Bel was right –things did look okay, now- but she couldn't. The way she just laid there on the pavement, and how that Munna got beaten again, that same memory playing over in her head.

Her stomach turned and her head ached.  
>Bel thought something over for a second. "Oh, hey! I know! That Musharna must have created the illusion of Ghetsis to scare those grunts off! That means it was just a dream! I learned that Musharna have the ability to create dreams like that. That's probably why it left the Dream Mist behind."<p>

Touko looked up at the blonde girl. "Yeah, Bel. That scene with Ghetsis _was_ a dream." She paused for a moment. "But the rest was still real…" 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

He looked up at her, but he didn't know what to say; there was _nothing_ for him to say.

_"I….I...,"_ He began, but never finished.

The traveling duo left town soon after the incident at the Dream Yard. Well, actually, _immediately_ after the incident. Touko practically ran from the ruins, leaving Oshey to stumble behind her, desperately trying to catch up.

At this point, she didn't even seem like the same person anymore. The way she used to talk, the way she laughed, it all made Oshey smile, even on his worst days; but now it seemed as though he couldn't even get a smile from _her_. Touko was an absolute wreck.

A cool breeze whooshed past them as they headed down Route 3, and approached the local Daycare Center. Touko loved to see little kids with Pokemon, loving their innocent, reminding her of her past self, and whatever was left of it. But even for them, she couldn't bare to make more than a small, crooked smile; and that smile sure wasn't enough to cover up the sadness that her eyes held.

But he thought for sure, that after some good training, when they were both nice and tired, he'd get healed up at the daycare, and be able to cuddle against his trainer, as she'd congratulate him on another day well done; like always.  
>But he was only half right.<p>

The second he healed up, he jumped for Touko's arms, overjoyed to be back in them. She gave one glance at his eyes, the eyes she loved to see shine in the morning sun, the eyes she loved to see gently close to a distant sleep at night, and filled her own with tears.

"I can't," She whispered. "I've seen too much for my own good. The Dream Yard was only a taste of what's to come, and I don't think I can take it. If I can't go on along this adventure, it's best the separation starts now."

And that day, that very second, Oshey's heart split right down the middle. He wasn't just going to stand there and let her say this!  
>But yet, he did. And he let her slip farther away from him, one moment at a time.<p> 


	10. Chapter 9

Her belt was empty;

just like her heart.

What had she done?

She didn't know.

More than anything, she wanted Oshey back, but at the same time, the question of _why_ she wanted him kept coming back.

_I don't want to hurt him._

_So I should stay away._

_I have to leave, anyways;_

_for my own life._

That last thought sickened her. More than anything, Touko wanted to get out of there, so that her life would no longer endanger those around her, so she could figure things out for herself, but at the same time, that meant leaving Oshey, Cheren, and Bel all alone, to never see her again, to never know what became of her, leaving them to struggle on their own through life, without any support from her.

And then there was Leif.

She wasn't fond of him, but he had helped her, and seemed rather worried about what would happen to her if the Shadow Triad found her again. She didn't know what was going on, but Leif did, and he was genuinely concerned.

And all she could do was leave him behind, without even thanking him.

But she still had to make it to Driftveil before actually leaving, so her only hope was that she could somehow find a way to figure things out before she got there and boarded the ship out of Unova. Touko had a small feeling, somewhere in her gut, that Team Plasma really did have something to do with all of this, and that she hadn't seen the last of them just yet.

Small feeling or not, it was something to rely on.

A new pain settled in as she got asked many times to battle one her way to Nacrene City, other trainers mistaking her for one of them, only to have her reject their challenges and walk away with her head held low.

Upon reaching Nacrene City, a gust flew by, catching her hat. The wind blew the white and pink cap down the streets of the city, leaving Touko to bustle behind it, trying desperately to catch up. She had only planned to walk through this city, ignoring most of the buildings and attractions, but now it seemed things were taking a different toll.

The gust subsided, leaving the hat rather dirty and scuffed in front of two large glass doors. Touko sighed, traipsing towards it. She fashioned it back over her hair, pulling her big ponytail out of the way.

Before she had the chance to even think about leaving, the glass doors opened to reveal a green-haired boy, making his way out of the museum.

_It's him…_

Catching sight of her, N stepped over to where Touko stood, keeping his stance steady, and his presence at a calm demeanour, while her legs could barely even hold her up.

"I…believe we've…met before," she managed to get out, tired and weak.

"Yes, we have. Touko, was it?" He asked.

She nodded in reply, not sure if she could have answered, otherwise.

"I see you've made it this far, and I heard about your battle in the Dream Yard….I'll take it as you're still a trainer. Do you know why I'm here?"

Touko shook her head.

"I want to understand the truth about Pokemon, the ideals of their trainers. I want to see a future where Pokemon are perfect…Do you feel the same?"

She didn't know.

Sure, Touko loved being with Pokemon, but she had just left her only one behind, trying to protect it.

She nodded her head "yes", even when she really thought otherwise.

"Really now; well then my friends and I would like to test you. Are you ready?"

Her lips mouthed the word "no", but no sound could come out. There she was, and she couldn't even fight for what she believed in, she couldn't show N that her and her Pokemon were close; not anymore.

But Touko thought quickly, calling out to a Pidove that sat idle in a near-by tree.

"Please fight along-side me, just this once."

N was about to ask where _her_ Pokemon were, but thought differently when the Pidove obeyed, coming to her side.

"I'll take it as this Pokemon is yours? Well, it's good to see that you let it off on its own."

_Sure…_ She thought. _My Pokemon._

Touko quickly checked the Pidove's states as N sent out his first Pokemon; also a Pidove.

_Level 15, eh? That should do just fine._

"_Trainer, be thankful I'm helping you, for it won't happen again."_

She gestured a nod to show her understanding, and called for the first attack. The strongest thing it had was Air Cutter, which took it and N's next Pokemon, a Timburr.

Touko had only just met this Pokemon, but they were already doing quite well together. Two of N's Pokemon were down, and the last one was anything but a threat. The Tympole went down after two Air Cutters. Touko wasn't a fan of spamming moves, but she was desperate.

As the Tympole fainted, marking Touko's victory, N returned his friend to its Pokeball.

"I can't see the future I wanted just yet; my friends aren't strong enough to make everyone agree with me." N seemed to almost be talking to himself as he walked away, not even saying goodbye. "Zekrom…that Pokemon created Unova along-side the hero…could I be that hero, could I make that Pokemon my friend? Yes, Zekrom is what I need if I'm going to fulfill my ideals…"

As the green-haired trainer left their sight, the two of them, trainer and Pokemon, stood there together.

The Pidove watched him walk away. _"What's he blubbering about?"_

Touko shrugged. "I have no idea."

After merely seconds passed, Touko couldn't help but do what she did next. The brunette grabbed the Pidove, holding it close in her arms.

"Thank you," she whispered.

The young bird giggled, _"Don't mention it! But why were you all alone, without a Pokemon? You seem to be a very capable trainer…"_

"Well, I don't really want to talk about it…but let's just say my old Pokemon and I just…aren't together anymore."

"_Well, I'm sorry to hear about that…" _The Pidove looked up at Touko. _"I know I said I would only help you just that once, but if you want some company, I could always tag along with you for a little bit. I don't want to leave the area, but as long as you're here-"_

"That'd be great!" Touko didn't even let her finish, but instead pulled the Pidove into another embrace.

Touko enjoyed the company that the Pidove provided, but the strange thing was, she also enjoyed that of N's.

Sure, they didn't see eye-to-eye, but she could understand how he was feeling. When they'd first met, she hadn't a clue what he was talking about, and even Oshey had thought it was crazy to want to separate Pokemon from people.

But now it was different. She could see how happy people were with Pokemon, and even felt that way herself, but she also knew what it was like to give up her Pokemon, only because she wanted to help them;

First it had been with Celebi all those years ago, and with Oshey not all that long back.

"_Where are we going?"_ The Pidove asked, as they left their place outside the museum, now making their way inside.

"I just feel like we should be here." The small teen looked up one last time at the outside of the building, before entering. Not that she trusted her instincts, but she had an odd suspicion about this place.

"It just feels right."


	11. Chapter 10

The innards of the building were trailed with the scents of ivory and dust. It was an old building, but it looked completely new. Perhaps some renovating had been done, but it wasn't for sure.

Touko thought the museum was just plain boring, while the Pidove beside her seemed to enjoy it quite a bit.

"What are you so excited about?," she asked with a smile.

The Pidove returned her gesture. _"I've always wanted to come inside, but they don't allow wild Pokemon in here."_

The teen thought for a moment. "But aren't you technically still 'wild'?"

"_Well, nobody needs to know that, now do they, dearie?"_

They shared a grin of silliness before continuing through the building, only to be approached by a man. He seemed friendly, but Touko kept her guard up. When he explained that he was the Gym Leader's husband, and that he was the assistant director of the museum, the two were left at an odd decision. Touko wanted to take Leif's warning about getting too close to the Gym Leaders, but the Pidove seemed ever so intrigued by the museum.

Of course, she still owed the Pidove for helping her out.

_What could go wrong with just one little tour…?_

That thought probably seemed like nothing to Touko right then, but it meant more than she could have dreamed.

"Sure, I guess a tour would be kinda neat." Touko flashed a smile over to the Pidove.

As the man who went by the name of Hawes led them around, explaining each artefact, there was one thing that struck Touko as interesting. In the center of the room, stood a large structure, perhaps a fossil of some sort; the dragon-like figure drew her in.

When it seemed that they'd never get around to it with all the items in the museum and all the explaining Hawes seemed to want to do, Touko took things into her own hands, and although not wanting to be rude, ran over to the large display on her own.

Luckily, Hawes took it to no offense, and instead went over to explain it to her.

"To be honest," he began. "We don't know much about this. As it's obvious to see, the artefact resembles a dragon, and that fossil up there? Well, we just call that the Dragon Skull. We don't know what it actually is, but when we discovered it, we were positive it was nothing like we'd ever seen before…"

_Nothing like they'd ever seen before...? Wow…_ The teen's thoughts grew wild with all the stories and past events the Dragon Skull could have endured she could come up with.

None were even close to the truth, though.

"You seem mighty fascinated by this relic; but I guess it's only to be expected by a trainer." Hawes left out a loud laugh, attracting the attention of several others around them. "Speaking of which, my wife has been looking for some challengers, and if you're not too busy, would you mind giving her Gym a try? I'd be honoured if you could."

Touko's lips dared to let slip the word "yes", but she held back.

Capturing the Pidove in her arms, she took haste out of the building. "I'll think about it!"

And then they were gone.

"_What was that all about, dare I ask?"_

Touko panted, completely out of breath. She had ran until her thoughts left her completely; until every idea of continuing her journey through Unova was farther than gone. They were now somewhere before Pinwheel Forest and after Nacrene City, heading south down into a grassy groove just between the two.

"I….I don't…know," Touko said, trying to catch her breath. "I…just couldn't be there any longer."

The Pidove looked at her with a puzzled expression, head titled to the side slightly.

The teen sighed. "Listen, I wish I could tell you, but I can't. For one thing, the story would take all day, at the least….it's just…I can't be near a Gym; I'm not supposed to be."

The Pidove went to stand by her side, not bothered by the large size difference._ "But I thought we were friends; you seemed so capable of befriended Pokemon when you first called out to me –I wouldn't have aided you otherwise. Doesn't that mean you can tell me anything?"_

"Sure, I guess. But I _can't_ tell you; it's too dangerous a risk."

"_Why's that?_

Those words stopped Touko dead in her thoughts.

"B-because…" She caught her breath once more. "Because the last Pokemon I told was the one who's heart I ended up breaking."

A silence fell between them, neither knowing what to say. The Pidove wanted to do something, but she had no idea what.

But she spoke eventually. _"Maybe this isn't the best time for me to be here."_

Touko looked down to her, tears forming at another lost friend. "You're right."

She had been out on this adventure for just over a week, and yet for the second time already, Touko found herself walking the road ahead of her alone.

The first thought she had when her and the little Pidove parted ways was to run; run as far and as fast as she could, until her sneakers hit the grounds of Driftveil. But she wasn't just going to leave without saying goodbye, or giving an explanation.

So the teen headed back to the museum, to let Hawes and Lenora know that she wouldn't be able to take on the Gym. She was going to give a goodbye, and a damn good one. She wasn't going to be like Bel or Cheren, who found a way to get out with only a wave of their hand.

She wasn't going to be like N who just left when he was fed up, always ticking her off not only without a goodbye, but a barely-hello.

She wasn't going to let them go like she'd done to Oshey.

She wasn't going to be like her old self.

Upon entering the museum, she could already tell Hawes wasn't there. If he had been, he would have been right up front, waiting to greet people coming in. Perhaps he just wasn't in the main room, but he still wasn't there, and that's what mattered to Touko. So instead, she set off to look for Lenora. Even if they hadn't met, she could at least tell the Gym Leader to give her message to Hawes.

But when Touko made it into the Gym part of the museum, it was clear that she wasn't going to get to see Lenora without beating to trainers and doing the Gym puzzle. And Touko sure would have -if she had any Pokemon.

To see if she could perhaps just drop a message to either of the two spouses of the museum, she went over and talked to the Gym assistant along the side lines.

"Umm…hello." Touko couldn't seem to form sentences anymore.

The Gym assistant looked at the trembling teen. "What can I do for you?"

"I was wondering…could I perhaps…umm…" Or maybe she just didn't want to accidentally hurt anyone. "Leave a message for Hawes?"

"You mean that guy?"

The man pointed behind Touko, at a frantic Hawes running towards Lenora's room. Touko thanked Arceus for that perfect timing; not that she knew why he was so distressed.

"Yeah; that guy!"

Touko made for Lenora's room, following at quite a distance behind Hawes.

When they came to a stop before Lenora, Touko began to speak. "Hawes, listen I-"

But Hawes interrupted. "Lenora, dear, come quickly! Some Plasma thugs are trying to steal from the museum!"

_What? Plasma…Team Plasma…not here…not them again!_

"What!," Lenora burst out yelling, "What's going on! Quickly, we must stop them!"

And with that, Lenora took haste out of the Gym room, with Hawes following up behind her. But before leaving, the assistant director stopped to look back at Touko.

"I'm sorry about all this; whatever you came to say is going to have to wait! But please, we could really use your help as a trainer!"

And so he left the room, leaving Touko to only her thoughts.

She looked around for a window or some sort of passage way out, but there was none in the small Gym room.

Whether she wanted to help out or not, it looked like she was headed in that direction, one way or another.


	12. Chapter 11

She didn't give herself even a moment to think, before bursting up the stairs of which she'd came, thrusting herself into whatever mess Team Plasma was going to throw at her. As she headed out, the teen noticed many of the trainers in the Gym rushing around frantically, unsure of what to do. But oh, Touko knew what _she_ had to do.

As she emerged from the Gym part of the museum, she leaned over the balcony to inspect the scene below. Across the way, another young girl was doing the same thing. When Touko asked what was going on, the girl could only shake her head.

"Those thugs sure were bold…It's almost as if they believe they are doing the right thing; stealing from us."

Touko sure didn't know what they meant, so she could only guess. _Only evil people steal from others. Right or not, __**I **__still think they're wrong!_

With that thought in mind, she leapt down, two stairs at a time, right into the middle of their argument.

Lenora continued shouting, "Enough fooling around!"

Touko, hearing this, took her place by the Gym Leader's side.

"So, you've come to stop us?," one of the Plasma grunts spoke up. "Well, you're too late! We, Team Plasma, claim this museum's Dragon Skull in the name of Pokemon liberation!"

_You don't have to keep referring to yourselves; the get-up you're wearing and nonsense from your mouth says "Team Plasma" better than anything else…_ But Touko kept this thought to herself.

Noticing Touko's glare, another grunt spoke up, "To prove that we're serious, we'll steal it right here and right now!"

And just like that, smoke filled the area around them, obscuring their vision. The teen scoffed under the thickness in the air, stumbling trying to keep her balance. It was only when it was too late, that the three of them opened their eyes to find the Dragon Skull gone.

"W-what's going on?," Lenora asked, still struggling to breathe, but managing to gain enough control to scurry out of the building.

Hawes continued after her. "We have to go after them!"

The petite teen followed them at a quick pace, but stopped for just a moment to look at the now beheaded dragon structure. She hated it in this state, hated Plasma for putting it there, and although she believed it wasn't alive or anything, she swore that the big, black dragon was feeling some kind of pain; not that she had any proof of it, or anything.

Making her way outside, Touko spotted Lenora standing on the street, looking around. A colourfully-dressed man approached her, and began to speak to her in a casual tone. If the brunette didn't know any better, things would have just looked like an ordinary day, nothing out of place; but she _did_ know better.

Lenora called Touko over, introducing her to the man, who went by the name of Burgh. When the teen was told that this Burgh person was the Gym Leader in Castelia City, Touko made a mental note to stay away from him as much as possible, no matter how nice he may have seemed.

Remembering that this wasn't just a casual conversation, Lenora exclaimed, "Burgh! Some thugs were just in the museum, and they took an exhibit!"

The shock on Burgh's face only became more priceless the longer Touko looked at it, and for the first time in a long while, she let out a little laugh.

But of course, it was no time for laughing, and things became clear of that as Bel came traipsing over to them. "Oh, hey there Touko, it's been a while! What's everybody doing here?"

As if on queue, Cheren came right along after her. "Touko, is there some kind of problem?"

_Why can't everybody just shut up and listen? Things would go by so much faster that way…_

Remembering their manners, the two other teens introduced themselves to the Gym Leaders. After hearing that they were trainers, Lenora gave them all assignments to split up and search in different directions, telling Cheren and Bel to stay at the museum, and Touko to go with Burgh to Pinwheel Forest, before heading in a direction of her own.

If only Lenora had remembered that Cheren and Bel still had no clue what was going on.

Upon making her way to Pinwheel Forest, Touko spotted Burgh just along the outskirts of it, waiting for her. But she couldn't help him. She had been given an assignment to help catch Team Plasma, but how could she all of a sudden just come out and tell them that she didn't have any Pokemon, especially after all this time? She couldn't.

So instead, the brunette hoped the fence beside her, and hurried her way down into a grassy groove, the one where she and the Pidove had parted ways, trying her best to stay out of Burgh's sight. Touko could hear him call after her, but she ignored him and kept running. She had known all along that there was no way she could get involved with others, without there being consequences, but for some reason, she kept getting to know people, kept getting into other people's lives. She hated herself for it, and she wouldn't stand for it any longer.

Her only hope now was that maybe, just maybe, there was another way to get to Castelia, without having to take Burgh's lead into Pinwheel Forest.

But as the petite teen began to look around the area, she could already tell there was no other way. The large puddles caused by the rain not that long ago, sloshed in the marsh as her boots sunk into them. Trees, grass, and some muddy water were all that could be seen in the small route, leaving Touko in a pit of her own despair.

Her eyes blurred with tears as shame weighed down on her shoulders, and she realized how much her body ached for sleep, or more so, just a friend to lean on. Her eyes closed more and more and she tried to walk, but although she wanted to try and find another way, her body and mind were already quite aware that there was no way around this situation.

But from the maze of her own thoughts, she noticed she had reached the end of the groove, and all there seemed to be was a dead-end. She stood, feet engulfed in the waters of a large puddle. The brunette gazed at the area around her, deciding to turn back. The second she swivelled around, a gust of wind took her hat.

"Damn wind! Why do you keep doing that!" Touko spoke as if the wind could hear her, even if she knew it couldn't.

Doing a complete 180 to catch up with her hat, she stopped dead in her tracks. Standing behind her, was probably the one being she needed to see more than any other. In his paws, the creature held her hat, holding it out to her.

"_Looking for this?,"_ Oshey asked.


End file.
